Yuka Akiyama

This study investigates the efficacy of written corrective feedback on two groups of first-semester JFL students’ homework. The treatment group was required to respond to “dynamic written corrective feedback (WCF),” which is modeled after a study by Hartshorn, K. J., Evans, W. N., Merrill, F. P., Sudweeks, R. R., Strong-Krause, D., and Anderson, J. N.. (2010), by continuously correcting/revising their homework by using metalinguistic error codes, answer keys, and maintaining an error log. In contrast, the control group was required to correct/revise the homework only once by looking at the answer keys. The research investigated dynamic/non-dynamic WCF in terms of (1) the accuracy rate of particles and predicates in grammar exercises and essay writing, (2) the overall quality of students’ essay writing, and (3) students’ perception of dynamic WCF. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test concluded that the median accuracy rate of the particle usage was significantly different (p<.05) in grammar tests, but not significant in essay writing. For accurate use of predicates, a significant difference was observed in essay writing, but not in grammar tests despite observable improvement in the latter. As for the overall quality of essay writing, the two groups did not differ significantly. The qualitative data, on the other hand, indicated the necessity to implement metalinguistic error codes and the tally sheet with sufficient planning and caution to make best use of the practice.

This study examined phonological, temporal, lexical and grammatical correlates of native speakers' perception of second language (L2) comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding). L2 learners of Japanese with various proficiency levels engaged in oral picture description tasks which were judged by native speaking raters for comprehensibility, and then submitted to pronunciation, fluency, and lexicogrammar analyses. According to correlation analyses and linear mixed-models, the native speaking judges' comprehensibility ratings were significantly linked not only with actual usage of words in context (lexical appropriateness) but also with the surface details of words (pitch accent, speech rate, lexical variation). Similar to previous L2 English studies (e.g., Isaacs & Trofimovich, 2012), the influence of segmental and morphological errors in the comprehensibility of L2 Japanese speech appeared to be minor.

This study analyzes the conversational styles (Tannen, 2005) of two dyads who engaged in a semester-long, video-mediated telecollaboration between Japan and America. While one dyad expressed the greatest satisfaction and developed the autonomy to continue the project beyond the curricular requirement, the other dyad expressed the greatest frustration, requiring a pedagogical intervention. To examine how the two dyads' different experiences could be attributed to turn negotiation patterns, the English portion of the second interaction session was analyzed. The results showed that for the unsuccessful dyad, silence, which was used by the Japanese EFL learner as a contextualization cue, triggered the American student's hyperexplanation to get the Japanese partner involved in conversation. However, such a high-involvement strategy, only resulted in producing fewer opportunities for the Japanese partner to contribute to the conversation (i.e., vicious cycle). In contrast, successful turn negotiation of the other dyad enabled them to share knowledge schema, improve recipient design (Erickson, 1986), and adjust their speech accordingly. Such personalized speech, in turn, led to the co-construction of conversation (i.e., virtuous cycle). Based on these observations, I conclude that " missed communication " (Ware, 2005) may entrench attribution of negative personal traits unless appropriate scaffolding/intervention is provided.

In our precursor research (Saito & Akiyama, 2017 in Language Learning), we reported that one academic semester of video-based L2 interaction activity was facilitative of various dimensions of the Japanese learners' spontaneous production ability development (e.g., comprehensibility, fluency and vocabulary). In this paper, we aimed to revisit the dataset to examine the effects of long-term interaction on the development of L2 comprehension ability. Consistent with the interactionist account of L2 comprehension ability development, the results showed that longitudinal interaction enhanced Japanese learners' comprehension (measured via a general listening proficiency test), as it provided opportunities for comprehensible input and output (measured via video-coding analyses) during meaning-oriented discourse.

This study examined whether 30 learners of Japanese in the United States who engaged in a semester-long video-based eTandem course made gains in global language comprehensibility, that is, ease of understanding (Derwing & Munro, 2009), and what linguistic correlates contributed to these gains. Speech excerpts from Week 2 and 8 of tandem interactions were retrieved and later assessed subjectively and objectively for global comprehensibility and its linguistic correlates (lexical appropriateness, lexical richness, speech rate, and morphological accuracy) in a pre/posttest sample design. The results revealed that, although the group made significant gains in vocabulary and some gains in grammar, improvement in overall comprehensibility was subject to considerable individual variability. According to a follow-up cluster analysis and discriminant analysis, increase in speech rate was the strongest predictor of those individuals who improved comprehensibility. The findings suggest that telecollaborative interaction may promote the development of vocabulary and, to some extent, grammar, but that significant gains in comprehensibility come mostly from the fluency trait of speech rate and may require longer interactional intervention. The findings have implications for the design of telecollaboration that supports second language learning.

The current study examined the impact of video-based conversational interaction on the longitudinal development (one academic semester) of second language (L2) production by college-level Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language learners. Students in the experimental group engaged in weekly, dyadic conversation exchanges with native speakers in the US via telecommunication tools, wherein the native speaking interlocutors were trained to provide interactional feedback in the form of recasts when the non-native speakers' utterances hindered successful understanding (i.e., negotiation for comprehensibility). The students in the comparison group received regular foreign language instruction without any interaction with native speakers. The video-coded data showed that the experimental students incidentally worked on improving all linguistic domains of language, thanks to their native speaking interlocutors' interactional feedback (recasts, negotiation) during the treatment. The pre-/post-test data led to significant gains in their comprehensibility, fluency and lexicogrammar, but not in the accentedness and pronunciation dimensions of their spontaneous production abilities. No significant improvement was found for the control group. The findings in turn support the acquisitional value of interaction, especially with regards to certain aspects of linguistic competence related to the early phase of L2 speech learning.

This study examines perceived affordances of eTandem learning, namely a type of telecollaboration where pairs of language learners reciprocally teach and learn each other's language and culture. The participants in this study were 12 students of English in Japan and 12 students of Japanese in the US who engaged in seven Skype sessions over a semester. The perception data was collected by engaging each dyad in an opinion-sharing task in which they discussed what would make an ideal language exchange project considering their experience with the current project. In addition, in order to investigate how potential affordances led to actual affordances (van Lier, 2004), longitudinal interaction data in Japanese were analyzed. The analysis of the perception data revealed several common themes that created potential affordances of eTandem: reciprocity, one-on-one interaction with same-age peers, semistructured language learning outside the classroom, and computer-mediated interaction. However, the analysis of the actual interaction data revealed that not all the participants managed to utilize the potential affordances (e.g., multimodal interaction and corrective feedback). Regarding language learning, the study found a potential relationship between increased first language awareness, tutor identity, and increased investment. It was also found that eTandem was perceived to afford the expansion of discourse options and increased awareness of sociolinguistic variations. Finally, several new research directions will be proposed, especially calling for the investigation of individual differences from both social and cognitive approaches.